Preparing young people for the future with lessons from the past.

Prisoners

Ofsted judges schools to be 1,2,3,4 (‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Bloody Awful, Sort it Out! (Inadequate)). Many school leaders, teachers, children and parents baulk at this, knowing full well the system is flawed and that a number or an equivalent word cannot reflect the complexity of what a school does. We all know, full well: ‘We Are Not a Number, We Are A Free School’ – And the desire to reduce the school to a number – simple information for simple people turns us into prisoners of a system that none of us truly understands but all remain tied to.

And:

Management judge a teacher’s teaching to be 1, 2, 3, or 4 or even 5 or SIX! Many school leaders, teachers and their children and parents, yes teachers have lives too, baulk at this, knowing full well the system is flawed and that a number or equivalent word cannot reflect the complexity of what a teacher does, we all know, deep down: ‘I Am Not a Number, I Am A Free Teacher’ – And the desire to reduce the teacher to a number – simple information for simple people turns him or her into a prisoner of a system that none of us truly understand but all remain tied to.

And:

Teachers judge children’s work to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, SIX, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F, G; Minus or Plus or Star or a Gold Star, Well Done Sticker, Have a Sweet… Many school leaders, teachers, children and their parents baulk at this, knowing full well the system is flawed and that a letter or equivalent number cannot reflect the complexity of what a pupil does, we all know, deep down: ‘I Am Not a Number, I Am A Free Child’ – And the desire to reduce the Child’s work to grades is but simple information for simple people and turns him or her into a prisoner of a system that none of us truly understand but all remain tied to.

What if?

We used dialogue to explain and question and encourage and divulge and dispute and disagree and agree and wonder and think and try to reflect complexity

not for the ease of bureaucracy

but for the sake of humanity…

And rather than gaming, protecting, copying, lying, covering up, resting on our laurels, arrogance or depression the system might